SAN FELIPE, Zambales — Noel Bartolome Jr. pulled off one of the most convincing victories in his young offroading career, driving away with the overall crown in the 2nd Gov. Jun Ebdane 4x4 Offroad Challenge in Barangay Sindol here on Sunday.
Bartolome, 25, took on the sand-and-mud Tracks A and B that were more challenging and viscious than expected with relative control and was similarly dominating in Track C that combined the technical and difficult phases of both tracks to emerge champion of the event Zambales Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. has been offering enthusiasts of the sport for the second-straight year.
“I am very proud of this victory, I wasn’t expecting much to dominate here,” said Bartolome, who also outshone in the process his illustrious father, Noel Sr. Both are racing for the Land Rover Club of the Philippines.
“We had aimed both at entertaining the local and tourist spectators, and provide a much-needed boost to our local tourism industry. And we achieved both. Congratulations to the organizers and everyone behind this project. And congratulations of course to all the racers — winners or losers,” said Ebdane.
Bartolome first took on Track B in the eliminations and although it was the “easier” of the two tracks, he finished second to last among 10 drivers who went under the 25-minute qualifying time with 21 minutes and 38.16 seconds.
Track A squeezed everything from the participants, but not Bartolome as he conquered with an amazing best time of 6:49.85. He totalled 28:28.01 for both tracks, second-best behind Pampanga Offroaders Club’s John Sambo (11:07.04, 5:08.29 and 16:16.13 total) and ahead of Angeles City 4Wheel Drive Club’s Arthur Sicat (14:12.62, 15:49.87and 30:02.49 total).
In Track C — which joined the two adjacent tracks for the final run — Bartolome beat qualifiers in the field that started with 30 drivers with the fastest time of 6:16.22.